2011 in pictures: Yates

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES The sun rises on the horizon as a drilling rig continues its work near Interstate 37 and Highway 281 in September. The rig is just one of several dozens work in the area drilling for oil in the Eagle Ford Shale across South Texas.

Corpus Christi Caller-Times

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES Army Spc. Chester Ernest gives his daughter, Aaliyah Earnest, 5, a pre-kindergarten student at Zavala Elementary School, a kiss as he and his wife, Maria, prepare to head home after surprising Aaliyah at school. Ernest is home on leave from a six-month deployment in Afghanistan.

Corpus Christi Caller-Times

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES Members of an Army honor guard carry the body of Army Spc. Ryan Gartner to a waiting hearse after it arrived at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in February. Gartner was killed Feb. 1 while serving in Afghanistan.

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES Lianna Ramirez, 7, a patient at Driscoll Children's Hospital, gets a surprise visit from Elmo and Super Grover during their visit to the hospital Feb. 22. The Sesame Street charters were in town to perform in the Sesame Street Live "Elmo's Healthy Heroes" show at the American Bank Center.

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES Ryan Garza (left), 17, Selena Cibrian, 17, and Tiffani Torres, 18, students at Ray High School try to stay dry as they head home from school as heavy rains passed through the area in May.

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES Donna Shaver, chief of the division of sea turtle science and recovery at the Padre Island National Seashore, releases 44 Kemp's ridley hatchlings into the Gulf of Mexico.

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES Samantha Keven, 10, works to pop up on her surfboard with the help of instructor Craig Palmer during the Texas Surf Camp on June 20 at Padre Balli Park.

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES Calallen's Tate Bammert reacts after the Wildcats lost the 4A State Championship game against the Wichita Falls Rider Raiders at Dell Diamond Field in Round Rock.

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES Kristen Creamean, 14, an eighth-grader at Incarnate Word Academy, sits with kindergartners Julianna Perez (left) and Morgan Rodriguez as Kristen and fellow eighth-graders prepare to read to the younger students during their weekly mentoring session.

Corpus Christi Caller-Times

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES Calallen Wildcats pitcher Wyatt Mathisen celebrates with teammate Greg Hernandez after winning the 4A Regional finals game over the Moody Trojans 5-0 on June 3 in Calallen.

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES Lisa and Jake Herring walk their dogs around South Pope Park past ice covered grass early on the morning of Feb. 4 as the Coastal Bend experienced freezing weather.

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES Firefighters battle a blaze in March at Joe Cotten's Barbecue, a legendary restaurant on U.S. Highway 77 in Robstown.

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES Ainie Hernandez, 5, and other members of the Falcon International Folklorico Company entertain spectators during the annual Diez y Seis de Septiembre celebration at Antonio E. Garcia Park.

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES Jonathan Torres, an active member of the Navy, stands behind his grandfather, Andres Ramirez who served in the Navy in World War II, during a Veterans Day celebration at Sherrill Park.

Corpus Christi Caller-Times

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES George Garcia, a welder at DP Machine and Fabrication, a cuts safety grid for a 200-barrel, open-top tank that his shop is making for oil field work. DP Machine and Fabrication is just one of several companies benefiting from the oil boom in South Texas because of the Eagle Ford Shale.

Corpus Christi Caller-Times

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES Kaylie Crews, 8, a second-grader at Jones Elementary, hugs her father, Dennis Crews, as he surprises her and her classmates Jan. 20 after returning home from a year deployment kept in contact with his daughter and her classmates through Skype during his deployment.

Corpus Christi Caller-Times

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES Frank Alaniz and Leo Garcia, members of the Veterans Band of Corpus Christi Color Guard, replace the American flags at the World War Memorial on Upper Broadway on Oct. 10. The flag used on the south pole was donated by Manuel and Susan Escamilla. It covered their casket of their uncle, Crecencio Garza, who served in World War II and the Korean War, during his burial in 1996.

Corpus Christi Caller-Times

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES The ball hits Kennedale Wildcats player Cole Thompson as he steals second base on the Robstown Cottonpickers' Trey Leal during the second inning of a state semifinal game in June at Disch-Falk Field in Austin.

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES Rachel Ulibarri, with the YMCA, gets a high-five from Jarrell Williams, 5, a kindergartner from Oak Park Elementary after helping him pick out a new pair of shoes during the 20th annual Shoes For Kids event at Payless Shoe Source.

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES Mother Nature puts on a light show early one August morning as thunderstorms moved through the Coast Bend.

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES Owen Brown, 3, holds an American flag during a ceremony at Flour Bluff High School commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. As part of the ceremony Flour Bluff ISD unveiled three pieces of the World Trade Center they had obtained to display at the district.

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES John Schueneman of Madisonville brings down his steer during the Buc Days Rodeo steer wrestling event April 18.

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES Calallen's Hayden Woods comes down with a pass putting the Wildcats in scoring position against the Dripping Springs Tigers during a playoff game at the Alamodome.